


Three Across

by fresne



Series: Springtime [3]
Category: Mythology - Greek and Roman
Genre: Yuletide, challenge:Yuletide 2007, recipient:iphianassa
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2007-12-20
Updated: 2007-12-20
Packaged: 2017-10-09 20:32:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,076
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/91320
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fresne/pseuds/fresne
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>On the longest night of the year, two gods play an earnest game of Scrabble. In walks a goddess and her Protégé. Words ensue.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Three Across

**Author's Note:**

> The following inspiration for this work and inspiration for my dialogue, where I am not directly quoting, because apt quotes are cool:  
> Greek Mythology

Persephone watched her husband lay the wooden tiles down with careful precision on the brightly colored board. His word - lips - hung vertically off the "l" in "style" for a value of six points. His previous word, "ta" had gotten him all of two points. She frowned at him. "What are you planning?"

Hades smiled at her like some secretive Scrabble planning god person. He picked up his new tiles from their neat and tidy stack. He laid them out one by one on his rack. He nudged one with a thick finger curling with black hair on the knuckle until it was exactly how he wanted it.

She was not going to be distracted. It was the longest night of the year and she'd have her solstice victory. "Did you do that to block me from something?"

"It is possible I was thinking of your nectar lips on this longest night." Hades picked up an improbably bright coffee mug - not one of her better solstice gifts - and sipped some mulled wine that perfumed the still air with winter spice.

She shook her head and went back to her own rack. Rapidly laid out her word - pollen - eight points, with a word double from a pink square.

She said, "Ha." and tapped the pink square covering tile with a triumphal finger and said, "Ha," again for good measure. She scrawled sixteen on the score pad.

Hades smiled some more. Persephone crossed her legs the other way in her chair. She'd already lost a scarf and a sweater in the last two games and this wasn't going to end like last year.

Rapid knocks attacked the parlor door, but before Persephone could say a word, someone slammed it open. It was a good thing they weren't farther into the long night.

Grey eyed Athena strode in. She had her hand firmly wrapped around the wrist of some poor soul, who she pulled into the room.  
Persephone smiled at him. The man winked at her with a clever handsome eye. Okay, so perhaps not a poor soul. Athena said, "I need you to help Odysseus." She tapped her foot as if she expected the help to drop like ambrosia from a ceiling ambrosia machine like in the Skymall.

Hades narrowed his eyes. He said, "Hello, wise Athena. Hello, clever Odysseus, King of Ithaca." Hades stared at Athena levelly.

Persephone looked at her waiting husband. She looked at foot tapping Athena. She rolled her own eyes and turned to Odysseus, who having reclaimed his wrist from Athena was looking around the room. He had a fluffy winter lamb on a red corded leash. The lamb couldn't have been more than a few days old. She said, "Oh!" because Persephone never could resist a fluffy lamb. Sure they were idiots, but extremely cute fragile idiots. She held out her hands and the lamb knowing a good deal gamboled over to her.

Odysseus followed. He said, "Nice palace."

"Yeah, we like it." She scratched the lamb under its chin. "Though, of course," she shrugged, "I timeshare." The lamb bleated happily. "So... why do you have a lamb?" She stopped scratching. "I really don't need any more sheep. That's what cute lambs become you know, sheep."

Odysseus said, "It's not for you. It's for Teiresias. In exchange for its blood, he's going to tell me how to get home." He sighed a deep chest bellows sigh. "I've been gone for so many years, I hardly what my own palace looks like."

Hades tapped his fingers on the table. "Perhaps, clever Odysseus, your trip, would go much faster if you would cease treating with every witch in the wine dark sea." Hades wore an expression that said more of sour wine than fruit forward delight. He'd definitely been planning something. Then again, he probably thought Persephone's chiton would be the next thing to go, but he wasn't the only one who could plan.

Athena crossed her arms and pulled herself up even taller. "His trip would go faster if you would summon Teiresias to speak with him."

Hades didn't look impressed. He looked at the door. "We're in the middle of a Scrabble game."

Athena glanced at Hades rack. She looked back at Hades. She looked back at the rack. She looked at the board. She did look impressed. "You play a deep game." She picked up the letters on his rack and rapidly laid out them out to spell Zyzzyva off the y in style.

Persephone looked at the letters and said, "Is that even a word?"

Hades rumbled. "It means the last word." He drank some more mulled wine from the cheerful mug in his dead pale hand.

Athena uncrossed her arms and went into lecture mode. "It also is a type of Weevil from the American tropics."

"The Americas," said Odysseus. "What lands might those be?"

Athena smiled at him like a proud society matron whose gigolo has said something unexpectedly sweet. "He's just so full of curiosity."

"He is certainly full of something," muttered Hades. He wrote down forty-three on the score pad and nine, because, of course, he'd also gotten an avid out of the deal. Athena was peering at Persephone's rack of letters now.

Persephone looked at her husband and her sister and her virgin sister's latest project, curious Odysseus. She stood up. "Hades, why don't you and Athena play and I'll help Odysseus round up Teiresias?"

"But," Hades brow wrinkled, "the game."

Athena was already sliding into Persephone's seat. "What? You don't think the goddess of wisdom can win a game of Scrabble against a cave dweller?"

Hades sat still in his chair. He looked up at Persephone with pleading lamb to the slaughter eyes. Persephone took pity on him. She leaned over and whispered in his ear. "I'll pay her forfeits." Her lips almost brushed the curving cartridge of his ear. "And if she wins, then maybe this year, you can pay some forfeits." She kissed his cheek.

Hades' beard hid a smile. It was hard to see, but it was there reflected in the improbably bright mug in his hand. He said, "Hurry back."

Persephone said, "Don't worry, it's the longest night." She winked at him. "We have time."

Clever Odysseus offered the lamb leash to Persephone. She took it and they went down the grey brick road to find the dead blood drinking prophet together, while behind them, tiles clicked in the long night.

**Author's Note:**

> If after reading my fiction here, you would like to read more about me and my writing check out my profile.


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